Mop



March 6, 1934.

C. FATLAND MOP Filed Jan. 21. 1932 20 the roller.

Patenec Mar. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT FFQE Application January 21 6 Claims.

This invention relates to mops. The object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient combined mop head and wringer.

Of the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is an elevation of a mop head which embodies the features of my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the crank handle of the mop; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the rollers and the mop showing a particular application; and Fig. 4 is a similar View, illustrating another feature.

The mop head comprises a yoke consisting of two curved bars 10, which are suitably fastened to any ordinary form of handle 11, so as to provide bearings for the rollers 12 and 13. These rollers may be of any suitable material and may be journaled in the outer ends of the bars 10 in any suitable manner. The spindle 14 of the roller 12 is xed to the roller, and on the outer end of the spindle is xed a crank for rotating The crank comprises a bar 15 and the handle 16. The roller 13 is rotatably mounted at the outer ends of the bars by means of suitable pins-17. These pins pass freely through the bars 10.`

When in operation, theupper roller 12 is nonrotatably xed in position as hereinafter described, and the roller 13 is rotatably but nonslidably mounted in the yoke. As a consequence, the rollers maintain at all times the same relative positions. When it is desired to insert or remove the mop 18 the Cotter pin 20 is removed. This allows endwise movement of the spindle 14 of roller 12 through bar 10; and when pressure is applied to the end of spindle 14, the resulting endwise movement of roller 12 spreads the bars 10 sufliciently to pass one of the spindles 1'7 of roller 13 out from the bearing. One or both ends of the roller 13 may thus be removed as desired, and the mop 18 may be placed between the rollers, or removed as required.

The crank 15 is adapted to rotate the roller 12 so as to wring the water out of the mop, but when preparing for scrubbing, the crank is rotated to a position parallel with the handle 11, and the handle 16 of the crank is rotated towards the mop head to the position indicated in full lines, with the lower end 21 projecting into a groove 22 in the bar 10. This arrangement holds the crank 15 from movement and, thus, prevents rotation of the roller 12 when the mop is in operation. A groove, however, if desired, may be formed elsewhere. A handle of suitable length may be used and locked in a slot in the handle 11.

When the handle 16 is rotated outwardly and reaches a position at right angles to crank 15,

, 1932, Serial N0. 587,839

the shoulder at the bottom of the slot 23 strikes the edge of the crank 15 and locks the handle 16 relative to the crank 15, so as to prevent further movement of said handle toward the axis ofthe roller.

When the water is to be wrung out of the mop, the handle 16 is rotated outwardly to a position at right angles to the crank 15, as indicated by the dotted lines. With this arrangement and the slot shaped as indicated, when the handle 16 is rotated to the position of the dotted lines, the two parts may be used as a crank for rotating the roller 12. But, when the handle 16 is rotated inwardly to lock the roller 12 from rotation, the eccentric position of the pivot 24 allows the handle to be rotated downwardly to the vposition indicated.

The mop may be composed of any suitable material, the width of the same being somewhat more than the distance between the outer ends of the bars 10 and the thickness being materially greater than the distance between the two rollers. While the distance between the rollers may be varied to suit the particular requirements, yet I prefer to have the distance about 1A," and the thickness of the mop in the neighborhood of M1". With this arrangement, the mop, when the roller is rotated, will be sufficiently squeezed to force out the water and, by rotating it forwardly and backwardly by means of the crank, it may be rinsed sufficiently for the purpose.

To prevent the mop from being inadvertently forced out from between the rollers, I prefer to form the mop thicker at the ends, for instance by doubling over the ends 25, as indicated, so as to provide double thickness at each end. With rollers having axes permanently xed in their spaced positions, when the mop is rolled until the end 25 strikes the two rollers, the thick end will prevent the passage of the mop end between the rollers, as the rollers cannot be forced apart so as to allow the thick end to be passed between them. With this arrangement, the operator may rotate the crank without much attention to the particular position or ther mop, as the danger of forcing out the mop is eliminated.

A feature of my invention is the relative and actual sizes of the rollers. While the exact size of these is not material, yet I prefer to have the upper roller much larger than the lower roller, preferably nearly twice as large. WhileI I do not wish to be'limited to the exact dimensions specifled, yet I prefer to have the roller 13 abou and the roller 12 about one inch in diameter. The use of a small roller 13 permits a sharper icc Contact between the cloth and the roller, so that, when the cloth is in the position indicated in Fig. 3, the pressing in of the roller on the mop will prevent its sliding relative to the mop and, hence, the mop will be forced along on the floor. As a consequence, the operator can force the mop forwardly and backwardly on the floor as much as may be desired; while, with a larger roller, the periphery of which would spread over much larger surface of the mop, the roller would simply slide along on the mop on to the oor.

Although the material of the rollers and mop is not a necessary feature of my invention, yet I prefer to have the rollers of wood, particularly the roller 13. Also, I prefer to form the mop out of a knitted fabric which is more or less porous, suitable for the retaining of water, and also to provide sufficiently yielding material to properly coact with the rollers in the manner hereinabove described.

In order to assist in wringing the mop, arms such as the arms 27 may be fixed to the handle which may be grasped by one hand by the operator during the wringing process.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a mop head wringer having a head comprising a yoke-like pair of arms and a pair of rotatably coacting wringing rollers journaled in the outer ends of said arms, means for releasing one end of the outer roller, said means comprising a headless spindle fixed in said outer roller and journaled in the outer end of one of said arms, and a headed spindle fixed in the inner roller and journaled in the other of said arms above said outer roller with a substantial space between the head of the spindle and the arm to permit endwise movement of the spindle through the arm so that when pressure is applied to the end of said spindle the resulting endwise movement of said inner roller will spread the arms and release said end of said outer roller from its bearing.

2. In a mop head Wringer as claimed in claim 1, means for preventing the spread of said arms When the wringer is in use.

3. In a mop head wringer as claimed in claim 1,

means for preventing the spread of said arms when the wringer is in use, said means consisting of a removable pin inserted through the headed spindle in said inner roller on the outer side of the arm in which said spindle is journaled.

4. In a mop head wringer having a head cornprising a yoke-like pair of arms and a pair of rotatably coacting wringing rollers journaled in the outer ends of said arms, means for releasing one end of the outer roller, said means comprising a headless spindle xed in said end of said outer roller and journaled in the outer end of one of said arms, and a headed spindle fixed in the inner roller and journaled in the other of said arms above said outer roller with a substantial space between the head of the spindle and the arm to permit endwise movement of the spindle through the arm so that said movement will spread the arms and release said end of said outer roller from its bearing.

5. In a mop head wringer having a head comprising a yoke-like pair of arms and a pair of rotatably coacting wringing rollers journaled in the outer ends of said arms, means for releasing4 one end of the outer roller, said means comprising a spindle xed to said outer roller and journaled in the outer end of one of said arms, and a headed spindle fixed to the inner roller and journaled in the other of said arms inside of said outer roller with a substantial space between the head of the latter spindle and the arm to permit endwise movement of the latter spindle through the arm so that said movement will spread the arms and release said end of the outer roller from its bearing. 110

6. In a mop head wringer having a head comprisng a yoke-like pair of arms and a pair of rotatably coacting wringing rollers journaled in the outer ends of said arms, one end of one of the rollers having a headed spindle iixed thereto 115 by which the roller is journaled in the arm, the head of the spindle projecting a material distance beyond the arm, whereby the arms may be spread apart a material distance without removing the roller from the arm.

CONRAD FATLAND. 

